Friday, April 20, 2012

Robin Bridges is another 2k12 Classmate (such a fantastic group of people!) and author of THE GATHERING STORM, an historical novel set in Tsarist Russia. I'm delighted to have her here today to answer...

THE FIVE:

1. What is the most surprising thing you’ve learned since becoming a writer?

You can read every author/ agent/ editor blog, attend conferences, lurk on message boards and just when you think you have the publishing industry figured out, something changes. You can’t chase the best-seller list hoping to get in on the “next big thing”. Just write the best book that only you can write.

2. Who are your writing heroes?

Laura Ingalls Wilder was my earliest writing hero. The fact that she wrote books about her life and sold them was the coolest thing to my nine-year-old mind.

3. What other profession would you like to learn?

I’d love to be an archeologist or an astronomer. Or a dolphin trainer!

4. What profession would you never, ever want to have?

Accounting. I hate balancing my own checkbook.

5. What is your favorite writing motto/mantra?

“Just keep swimming- I mean… Just keep writing, writing, writing- what do we do? We write, write…”

ABOUT THE GATHERING STORM:

From Goodreads:
St. Petersburg, Russia, 1888. As she attends a whirl of glittering balls, royal debutante Katerina Alexandrovna, Duchess of Oldenburg, tries to hide a dark secret: she can raise the dead. No one knows. Not her family. Not the girls at her finishing school. Not the tsar or anyone in her aristocratic circle. Katerina considers her talent a curse, not a gift. But when she uses her special skill to protect a member of the Imperial Family, she finds herself caught in a web of intrigue.

An evil presence is growing within Europe's royal bloodlines—and those aligned with the darkness threaten to topple the tsar. Suddenly Katerina's strength as a necromancer attracts attention from unwelcome sources . . . including two young men—George Alexandrovich, the tsar's standoffish middle son, who needs Katerina's help to safeguard Russia, even if he's repelled by her secret, and the dashing Prince Danilo, heir to the throne of Montenegro, to whom Katerina feels inexplicably drawn.

The time has come for Katerina to embrace her power, but which side will she choose—and to whom will she give her heart?

Monday, April 16, 2012

I listened to a lot of different kinds of music when I was writing GILT, most of it modern. I usually get inspiration in the car or while out for a long walk (or run), and I usually listen to music while I do those things, so often music from the radio will get churned up in my mind with plotlines and character flaws and even full scenes. But during the year it took me to write and revise GILT, through the several incarnations of the character (who was originally called Thomas), this song was always William's.

It's hard to explain why. Some of it could be that Chris Martin reminds me of William (crossed with James McAvoy). But I think more of it has to do with intention. The idea that love is a bright, shiny yellow. The idea that the expression of love can be something as simple as pointing out the color of the stars. The idea that no matter what, William thought Kitty was beautiful. We can all hope for that kind of love, can't we?

About Me

Having spent time as a freelance travel writer, travel agent, coffee shop barista, bookseller, ship's steward, construction company contracts manager and Montessori preschool teacher, I have finally found my calling. I write historical fiction for young adults. I am represented by Catherine Drayton of InkWell Management.

Find Me!

TARNISH

When poet Thomas Wyatt offers to coach Anne Boleyn on how to shine at court, she accepts. Before long, Anne's popularity has soared, but more than popularity, Anne wants a voice. What began as a game becomes high stakes as Anne finds herself forced to make an impossible choice between her heart's desire and the chance to make history.

GILT

When her best friend marries Henry VIII, Kitty Tylney must learn to walk the fine line between secrets and treason, discovering that in the Tudor court, the price of gossip could literally be her head.